This week, we spent considerable time learning more about police officers and their responsibilities and duties. But did you know that School Resource Officers (SROs) are full-time sworn law enforcement officers? Please review the background information below which sets up the stage for this week’s DB.
Background Information
Recent high-profile school violence incidents have raised concern about protecting schools. Some states have implemented School Resource Officers (SROs), who are full-time sworn law enforcement officers, to increase security. Currently, 45% of all public schools have SROs. Concerns about the excessive use of force have raised concerns over the necessity and impact of SROs.
In November 2019, for example, an SRO in Pompano Beach, FL was charged with child abuse after a video surfaced of him slamming a 15-year-old student to the ground. A few years earlier, a federal judge ruled that SROs in Birmingham, AL had used unconstitutional levels of force when they pepper sprayed students for minor disciplinary infractions, including crying in the hallway. Although the vast majority of school days pass without incident, when an SRO does use force as an instrument of discipline, questions arise about the necessity of a police presence on campuses, particularly if the force is caught on camera.
Now tell me:
What are the benefits and drawbacks of having SROs involved in disciplining noncriminal behavior by students?
Should we maintain the use of SROs or abolish the practice of having SROs in schools?
To help you with this week’s DB, attached are some documents that provide some more information on the purpose of SROs, what they do, and how they are perceived. You are also welcome to return to Chapter 5’s material that discusses more specifically the boundaries of what police officers can do while maintaining a civilian’s due process. Please use these resources as well as any outside information to support your arguments using proper APA in-text citations. Consider how the SROs’ duties overlap (or not) with our average police officers’ duties, and whether their duties justify their presence or need on school campuses.
Note: We want to see your understanding of the course concepts. Please refrain from copying from one another in the DBs.
As a reminder, be sure to fully address all parts of the prompt using the reading and lecture material to support your answers. A one sentence explanation or bullet points will not receive full credit. You must answer each of the prompt’s questions in detail.
As always, please remain respectful and civil in your posts.
Additional documents to help you out!
CCJ2002 – SRO Duties Summary.pdf
Weiler & Cray 2011 – Police at School A Brief History and Current Status of School Resource Officers.pdf
Counts et al. 2018 – School Resource Officers in Public Schools.pdf
Theriot 2009 – School resource officers and the criminalization of student behavior.pdf
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